


Elsie not lost

by macgoldenof



Category: Sex Education (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fluff, What-If
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:46:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27604405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/macgoldenof/pseuds/macgoldenof
Summary: What if Otis hadn't lost Elsie during S02E04?
Relationships: Otis Milburn/Maeve Wiley
Comments: 10
Kudos: 36





	Elsie not lost

Maeve felt awful after getting kicked out from the Quiz Heads. Not even winning was good enough apparently.

But all her frustrations went away as soon as she came out of the hall. She found Otis kneeled in front of Elsie while she was sitting on her pushchair. He was playing with her little sister and judging by the smile on her face she was enjoying his presence.

Maeve couldn’t help to stop for a moment to look at the image in front of her, it was one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen. Seeing Elsie’s little hands trying to reach for him as he teased her getting his hands out of her reach, making her laugh every time, just melted her heart. Having two people she loved so much interacting in that way made her incredibly happy.

He had told her that he wasn’t the best taking care of children, maybe he just had a natural ability to make the Wiley sisters happy she considered while looking at him with those eyes full of love that she had only for him.

“Hi!” She exclaimed making Otis and Elsie look at her.

“Maeve!” Elsie shouted with a smile.

“Hey.” Said Otis while standing up.

“How are things going here?”

“Better than expected.”

“Do you like being a babysitter then?”

“I don’t know if like is the word, but I have enjoyed taking care of Elsie.”

“Has she been a dickhead?”

“Not really. She has been very nice in fact. Are you sure you 2 are sisters?” He asked in a humorous tone.

“We are sisters, and you are a dickhead.” She replied with a smile.

“And how have things gone for you?”

“We made it through the heat, but they kicked me out afterwards.”

“I’m really sorry to hear that.”

“It’s just life, innit?”

“Maybe, but they are being stupid kicking their most brilliant member out.”

“Thanks.” She did her best not to snog him at that moment.

“I have to go to see Ola. See you tomorrow?”

“Of course.”

“See you then.”

“Bye.”

As he started to go away, Maeve looked at Elsie.

“He is Otis. Do you like being with Otis?”

Elise nodded.

“I like that too.” She added feeling bittersweet, they were still friends, but it was someone else who he had fallen for.

Once again, she had to see him go away to someone else. Once again, it hurt.

She loved him, seeing with someone else had been so complicated to accept, it hurt so much every time she saw them together. But she couldn’t see how to change the situation, since at least at that moment they were friends, and she didn’t want to risk that. But she loved him so much, the diary he gifted her for her birthday has been one of the two best gifts she had ever received. Of course, the other being the essay trophy he stole for her. The diary with the stripped pages really showed how much he understood her, much more than anyone else she had ever found in her life.

She thought that she might had had a chance to be with him before he got with Ola, and she completely regretted not trying to pursue it. Feeling too hurt after the apparent Otis’ betrayal (betrayal that after learning how things went, she understood never happened) and her own stubbornness to try make her already dead relationship with Jackson work made her be too late by the time she wanted to get to him.

She just hoped that she would never mess up her relationship with him, just the idea of not having him in her life was the most terrifying thing ever for Maeve.

* * *

Otis arrived at Ola’s place. He was incredibly nervous with the plan Ola and he had agreed upon, but even with that they ended up carrying out with it.

Even when he had enjoyed his first time more than he had expected, Otis felt that something was amiss. He supposed that it was due to his traditional nervousness around sex and having his first time.

* * *

Otis and Maeve met during a break.

“How was the camping?” She asked.

“Anticlimactic.”

“Any reason for that?”

“My dad is an arsehole.”

“Like father like son.” She said before chuckling which he mimicked.

“I knew he was an arsehole, I just discovered that he is a bigger arsehole than I expected. I just don’t want to be like him.”

“Don’t worry about that, you can be a bit of an arsehole sometimes, but you are a really nice person.”

“Thanks.” She could see in his face how happy he was after her words. “How are you?”

“They have asked me to be part of the Quiz Heads again.” She said with a proud smile.

“That’s awesome! I’m really happy for you.”

“Thanks.”

“The heat is today, right?”

“Yes.”

“I’m going to be there.”

“You don’t have to.”

“But I really want to see you smashing the other team.”

“Consider that done.” She said with a smile.

Later that day Otis sat next to Aimee while Maeve was on the stage waiting for the heat to begin.

“Hello. How are you?” He asked.

“I’m fine. You?”

“Same.”

“Are you here for Maeve, I guess?”

“Of course. I know how much this Quiz Heads thing means for her, and I want to support her as much as I can.”

Aimee doubted about pushing him about the supporting Maeve topic, but since she preferred to let Maeve deal with it on her own, she decided against it. “I’m here to support her too, and Steve of course.”

“I’m sure they will win this.”

Seeing Otis and Aimee there to support her meant a lot to Maeve.

And in stark contrast compared with the previous heat, she actually acted like a team player, being able to beat the other team.

As soon as she could she went down the stage and hugged her two friends, being the hug with Otis a bit longer making Aimee smirk.

“Thanks for coming, it means a lot to me.”

“I couldn’t miss this, and I’m sure Otis couldn’t either.”

“Exactly.”

“We made it to the finals, I can’t believe it.” Maeve was truly happy of her achievements. She went from being someone who Ms. Sands thought copied her essays from other people, to classifying for the NSQC finals with the Quiz Heads.

“Having you and Steve, the other team had no chance. And talking about Steve, I’m going to go get him. See you later.” Aimee said as she winked an eye to Maeve.

As Aimee had left them alone.

“That was amazing, you did a great job up there.”

“Thanks.” She beamed at him.

“Are you ready for the finals?”

“I hope so.”

“I’m sure you will be great there too.”

“I will try my best.”

“I know you will. Anyway, I should be going. See you tomorrow?”

“As always.”

“Goodbye.”

“Bye.”

Having him support her felt amazing for Maeve. Even if he had wanted more, she valued their friendship as one of the most important things she had in her life.

* * *

The destruction session after the detention was a good stress relief for Maeve. Even if her life was the best it had been on a while (she had her friendship with Aimee, she had Erin and Elsie back in her life, the Aptitude Scheme and the Quiz Heads were going really well, and more importantly, she had Otis), she couldn’t stop feeling somewhat frustrated to Otis was with someone else.

Even if she knew she had no reason to hate Ola, she couldn’t avoid feeling some resentment towards the girl. She understood that Ola was free to like Otis, and that Otis had the right to like her back, but it still frustrated her that he had picked Ola and not her. But the girl bonding session had helped her to diminish that resentment.

But all those feelings went to the back of her mind as she was walking Aimee home, since at that moment her main priority was helping her best friend to start getting over the trauma of her sexual assault.

* * *

As she was going to the minibus to go to the NSQC finals Otis found her.

“Why are you on your Quiz Heads uniform?”

“Why do you think it is?” She asked sarcastically with a smile on her face feeling amused how for how silly he could be sometimes.

“Oh yeah! Of course! The finals are today. How could I have forgot about that?”

“Because you’re a dickhead.”

“Yeah, that sounds right.” He snorted. “Anyway, good luck, I know you have this in the bag.”

“Thanks, I hope I don’t disappoint you.”

“You have never disappointed me before, no reason to think you will start now.” She smiled the smile that she had exclusively for him.

“I have to go if I don’t want to be late. Thanks for your support, it means a lot.”

“See you!”

“Goodbye.”

She had felt so damn tempted to snog him right at that moment. How he always managed to have the right words for her it was something she not no explanation for, but she enjoyed it, nonetheless.

* * *

Having to call Social Services on her mum was incredibly difficult, since she knew what was going to happen, but she was going to protect Elsie no matter what.

Telling that she was shocked as Erin arrived during the finals is an understatement, for a moment she felt completely blocked. Luckily, they had managed to achieve an amazing comeback to win the whole Championship.

As she was going with Erin as her had took her to celebrate the victory, she heard her phone. As she checked it, she saw a message from Otis.

_Congratulations. You were the MVP :)_

She beamed after reading it.

_Thanks dickhead :D_

She replied with a big smile plastered on her face.

“Who's that?” Erin asked.

“What do you mean?”

“That smile, who is the boy?”

“No one, just a friend.”

“A friend you like?”

“I'm not going to answer that.” With the smile she was wearing she didn’t need to say it out loud anyway.

* * *

With her mum and sister gone Maeve felt so alone in that caravan, as if no one in the whole world wanted her in their life. She just couldn’t take it anymore, she just needed him, her Muppet.

She was shaking, so it took her much greater effort than usual to be able to call him. Luckily for her he picked up almost immediately.

“Otis…” She said in a soft voice.

Otis got instantly worried by the tone in her voice, it was full of sadness and despair, he was sure she had been crying. “Where are you?”

“In my caravan.”

“Ok, don’t move from there, I’m coming right now.”

“Thank you.” That was all she managed to say before starting to cry again.

She felt a small relief knowing that Otis was going to be next to her once again.

* * *

Otis felt good after defending Jean in front of everyone. She had been right, she had to deal with the worst part of himself, and he knew he had to change that since she deserved much better than what he had given her.

As he was talking with Jean after the play, Otis received the call from Maeve.

“I’m sorry mum, I have to go, a friend needs me. But I promise we will talk about the clinic, ok?”

“Of course, darling.” Jean nodded at him.

As he was getting closer to the bike rakes, he heard Ola calling for him.

“Do you want to hang out a bit?” She asked.

“I’m sorry, I can’t, I need to do something.”

“Really Otis? What’s that thing more important than to spend time with me?”

“A friend needs me.”

“Maeve, right?”

“Yes. Does that matter?”

“It does, you seem obsessed with that girl.”

“What do you mean? She is my friend.”

“Your choice Otis, if you go to see her now, don’t even bother to talk with me ever again.”

He took a deep breath. “I’m sorry that it has come down to this.”

Otis took his bike and pedalled as quickly as possible to Maeve’s caravan.

* * *

He knocked at the door; a crying Maeve opened it.

“Maeve.” He said tenderly.

She almost jumped into his arms while she kept crying.

His heart broke seeing the immense sadness in her eyes. As she let herself cry on his chest, he held her tightly, rubbing small circles on her back in order to offer as much comfort as possible.

After she had calmed down a bit, he managed to get them inside to sit in the sofa. Maeve kept crying all the sadness she had inside while he held her tightly once again.

It took her a while, but she had finally calmed down.

“Thanks for coming Otis.”

“I couldn’t leave you alone after how bad you sounded when you called me. What has happened Maeve?”

“My mum… she was using drugs again and…”

Seeing how hard it was for her, he interrupted. “You don’t need to tell me anything right now if you don’t feel like it.”

She sniffed a bit while dry the tears in her eyes. “It’s ok.” She took a deep breath. “I called Social Services, and they took Elsie. My mum told me that she will never forgive me.”

Seeing how sad she looked, he knew he needed to make her feel better. “You did the right thing Maeve.”

“You think so?” She asked somewhat hopeful of Otis thinking she did what was right.

“Of course. Elsie deserved better than what your mum gave you. She deserves to have a normal childhood.”

“Really?”

“You did right. And you know that too. Don’t doubt so much of yourself.” He did his best to sound reassuring.

“Thanks for that, it means a lot coming from you. Ola is so lucky to have you.”

“I don’t think she sees that in the same way.”

“Why?”

“She wanted to hang out and when I told I was coming here, she told me I had to choose her or you. And well, you know my choice.” He shrugged.

“What? I’m sor…”

“Don’t say sorry.”

A small smile appeared on her face while she murmured. “Dickhead.”

“I get it, you are mean.” He said jokingly.

“You should have not come; I didn’t want to cause you any problem.”

“Do you think I was going to leave you alone when you called me crying? Really? And if Ola doesn’t understand that you are an important part of my life, that’s her problem not mine.” He sounded so sure of what he was saying that he couldn’t help but to hug him again.

“Thank you so much Otis. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“I don’t know what would have been of me without you either.” He whispered on her ear as he embraced her tightly.

They couldn’t see each other but the smiles on their faces were as big as ever.

The realisation hit Otis like a truck. He had had that sensation inside him that something was amiss since he got with Ola, but he guessed that it was just him being him. That sensation amplified after having his first time with Ola. But at that moment nothing felt amiss anymore, everything felt right, as if everything was as it should be. Having Maeve between his arms, being so close to her, being there to support the other, it all felt like the right thing. All those feelings he believed long lost were surfacing once again.

As the hug ended, she sat next to him with her head on his shoulder.

“So, are you single now?” Maeve asked.

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“I hope you don’t end up regretting your choice.”

“I know I won’t. I don't like ultimatums anyway. And if the price to keep a relationship is to end our friendship, I know that that relationship is not worth it.”

“It means so much to me that you value our friendship so much. I do the same.” And the smile on her face was the evidence.

They stayed like that for a while finding comfort in each other’s presence. It was Maeve who broke the silence.

“Could you stay tonight? I don’t want to be alone.” She asked unsure of his answer while biting her fingernails.

“Of course.” She couldn’t stop appreciating him, he always found a way to be there for her.

“Do you want to do anything before going to sleep?”

“I will do whatever you want.” She actually thought of snogging him silly, he had told her to do as she pleased, didn’t him? She couldn’t stop a small smile from appearing on her face after that thought.

She put some movie to which they barely paid any attention. She ended up falling asleep leaning on him, with a smile on her face.

He did his best to move without waking her up. As he had successfully managed to get up, he picked a couple of blankets. He put one over her, followed by trying to put a pillow under her head so she could be as comfortable as possible.

He really liked seeing her this relaxed and so at peace, he wished he could be able to carry all her pain. He also couldn’t stop admiring how beautiful she was, because even if her looks were not what had made him fall for her, she still was the prettiest girl he had ever seen. He even started to wonder how much time it would be appropriate to wait after breaking up with Ola before telling Maeve about his feels.

He turned off the TV and sat on the sofa. He put the blanket over him, and he fell asleep too.

* * *

He could feel someone nudging on his shoulder. He opened his eyes only to find Maeve, suddenly all the memories of the previous day came back to him.

“Good morning sleeping beauty.” She said with a smile.

“Good morning.” He murmured while stretching.

“Ready for breakfast?”

“Yeah.”

“There is not much to choose from, but it should be enough.”

“Sounds good to me.”

They sat in front of each other while eating breakfast.

“So, how do you feel today?” He asked.

“I’m as good as I could be.”

“If you need someone to talk about it, let me know.”

“Thanks.”

They finished their breakfast when Maeve spoke.

“Thanks for staying.”

“You are welcome.” He said with a smile.

“You can go now if you want.” She didn’t want him to go, but she didn’t want to force him to stay either.

“I prefer to stay with you unless you want to be alone.”

“I would like your company.” She replied with that smile she only had for him.

“Then I’m staying. Anything you want to do?”

“Nothing special. We can just talk, or we can watch a movie.”

And with that they spent a bunch of hours just speaking about a myriad of topics, just like they had done in the past. The even watched a couple of movies, once again with Maeve leaning on Otis.

It was getting late when Otis told her.

“I would need to go home to change my clothes. I will come back as soon as I finish.”

“Can I… can I stay at yours today? I would prefer not to be here tonight if I can.” She asked nervously and afraid of Otis not wanting her at his house.

But Otis being Otis could only give her one answer. “Of course.”

She wasn’t sure why she had doubted of his answer, but once again he had done exactly what he needed. “Thanks.”

They were on their way to Otis’ house when Otis talked.

“I don’t think I told you this. I told publicly that I was the one giving sex advice, so now everybody knows.”

“Why have you done that?” She asked with curiosity.

“Mr. Groff was attacking my mum during the play, and I had to defend her. So, I had to tell everyone that it was me giving advice, not her. I’m sorry if I have fucked up.”

“It’s ok Otis, you were defending your mum from that arsehole. I’m more than fine with that.”

“I had not told anyone about your involvement yet. I will tell my mum, but not to anyone else. I will do everything I can for you not to suffer any repercussion from it.”

“It’s fine. The clinic was my idea, and I will face any consequences. I won’t let you alone in that.”

“But, if we are not allowed to keep the clinic, how are you going to manage?”

“I will, don’t worry. And anyway, even if I started the clinic for the money, I got something out of it that is much more worth it than that, I got to know you.”

“Same here, I will always be thankful for telling you that I was in with the idea.”

“How couldn’t you? It was my idea, so it was obviously a great idea.” They both shared a laugh.

They arrived at the Milburn’s residence and Otis opened the door. They found Jean sitting on a chair around the kitchen table.

“Hi darling. I didn’t expect you to bring someone with you.”

“Hi. It’s was a last-minute decision. She is Maeve. Maeve, she is Jean, my mum.”

“Hello Ms. Milburn.” Maeve said shyly.

“Nonsense, you can call me Jean. Do you study at Moordale, right? I think I have seen you around.”

“Yes, I’m in the Aptitude Scheme.”

“That’s nice.”

“She is going to stay tonight.” Otis said.

“If that’s ok with you, Jean.”

“Of course, all Otis’ friends are welcome at this house.”

“Thanks, I appreciate that.”

“We will go to my room mum; it has been a tiresome day. We will speak tomorrow, ok?”

“No problem, darling.” Jean said in her traditional friendly yet sophisticated tone.

They were going upstairs when they heard Jean yelling.

“Remember to use protection!”

Maeve couldn’t stop laughing as she saw the embarrassment in Otis’ face.

They were finally at his room.

“That’s my mum for you.” He sighed.

“She doesn’t seem your mum though, she is much cooler than you.” She teased.

“Yeah, she is very cool, but not the coolest woman I know.” He winked at him.

“Do I know that woman?”

“Maybe.” He teased. “I need to talk with my mum about the clinic, do you want to be there?”

“I would like that to be honest. I want her to listen from me the reasons I had to do what I did.”

“Perfect, we will talk with her tomorrow morning.”

They just talked a bit more, mainly about Otis’ room, before it was really late.

She yawned. “I’m really tired. Should we go to sleep?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Where is the bathroom?”

“As soon as you leave this room at your left.”

“Ok.”

She took her sleeping clothes and went to the bathroom to prepare herself to go to sleep and to change the clothes she was wearing.

Not long after she returned to Otis’ room.

“How do I look?”

“More beautiful than ever before.” He teased her.

She tried unsuccessfully to stop a smile from covering all over her face.

“My turn now.” He said while taking his clothes to do the same as Maeve.

As Otis was back.

“I’m sorry if there is not much room in the bed.”

“It’s better this way.” She said with a smirk.

They made themselves comfortable. She ended up cuddling into him. He was the most comfortable and warmest pillow ever, she thought amused by that idea.

“I’m sorry, Maeve.”

“What for?”

“For not being there for you enough.”

“But you were for me yesterday.”

“I’m not talking about yesterday. I meant what I said about missing you, but even after you were back, I was just completely focused on Ola. You are my friend Maeve, and I’m sorry if you have ever felt different.”

“It’s ok Otis, I understand what’s feeling attached to your first relationship. That’s why I really appreciate what you did being there for me yesterday. You sacrificed your relationship just because I needed you. You waited for me at the clinic because I needed you. You put your relationship with your best friend in danger staying with me because I needed you. No one has ever given as much as you. So, yeah, I know you are the best friend I could have ever asked for.” She said as she softly caressed his chest.

“I’m going to try to do better in the future.”

“I know you will.” She said before looking at his face one more time before going to sleep.

They both felt asleep feeling completely happy.

* * *

The morning after saw Otis waking up before Maeve. She just stayed there without moving just looking at the girl he loved being so close to him.

It wasn’t long after when he felt her moving.

“Hi.” He whispered in a soft voice.

“Hi.” She said in the same way.

They just keep looking each other in the same way they had done that one time at the bridge, with their full of love eyes completely fixed on the other.

Maeve started to move slowly and ended up being with her face over his.

She took both of his cheeks and got really close to him.

“Is this ok?” She asked looking for reassurance, not wanting to mess up that moment.

“Yes.” He sounded confident.

She finally closed the small gap that separated them and kiss him as hard as she could. It thrilled her that he acted in the same way.

As they broke the kiss to breathe the stayed really close.

Maeve ran her thumbs over Otis cheeks in a very slow and soft way.

The 2 had a big smile on their faces.

“I like you.” She said.

“I like you too.”

She couldn’t stop herself from kissing him again. She knew that she was going to become addicted to kiss him, but since she could do that as much as she wanted, she didn’t mind.

As they separated once again, it was Otis who spoke.

“I... I love you, Maeve.” He admitted with shyness.

“You love me?” She had hoped that he was going to like her back, but she didn’t expect him to love her at that point.

“I do. So much that I can’t put into words, but I do.” He said as he held her even tighter.

“I love you too, Muppet.”

Obviously, a kiss followed that moment. And another one after. And another one. And too many to count.

After making out for a while, he spoke.

“Do you want to go downstairs to have breakfast?”

“Yes.”

“Are you ready to speak with my mum?”

“Maybe after another kiss.” She raised her eyebrows seductively.

“Let’s fix that then.” He said with a smile.

Telling that they felt happy at that moment is an understatement.

* * *

The conversation with Jean went better than they expected. She was immediately sympathetic with Maeve’ situation, understanding what pushed her to start the clinic. And she just couldn’t be angry with Otis, who had assumed his responsibility and had been honest with her. She was proud of her son since for what they had told her, Otis had genuinely helped other school students, even if they had been charging in the process.

A few days later they were called to the office of the new principal. Luckily for them, since all the students that had used the clinic talked wonders about it, Otis and Maeve were not punished. They just couldn’t do the clinic again, but they were fine with that, they had already found something in that clinic much more important than money. They have found the immense love they felt for each other.

And as days, weeks, months, and years passed, through thick and thin, the bond that was their love kept getting stronger since as Maeve had said once, they were really good together.


End file.
